A Weary Traveler’s Journal
A Weary Traveller's Journal My companions, warriors and members of Evil's Bane, are sleeping close by as I write. It is our first night on blessedly dry land after a long sea journey. Only a sputtering candle lights this darkened common room of the first inn by the docks in Firiona Vie, as a fresh quill scratches my words on the parchment. We've all sailed a long way from Antonica, following the trail of stories and rumors about an unusual winged beast that swooped down during a battle and carried off Lysel - our sworn companion and the Bane's best swordswoman - in its hooked talons. Weeks ago, we were about to give up the search when Rallos Zek intervened and sent us a spark of hope in the form of a tall, cloaked visitor. He told us that he had heard of others being captured by flying creatures, and he told us we needed to forget about our friend, that she had been taken as a slave to the Ring of Scale on "Kunark," and that no slave has ever escaped. None of us had ever been to this place, Kunark, but we were encouraged by the fact that Lysel might still be alive. We all agreed. If there was a chance that she lived, there was a chance we could rescue her. Our mysterious friend only shook his head. Then, he slipped back the hood of his cloak so that we might see his reptilian face. He introduced himself as Vanusk and told us he was boarding the Seahawk that evening to sail to Kunark. In return for our companionship on the long voyage, and payment of his passage, Vanusk offered to tell us about his homeland. His tales included much that we already knew. However, so that I would miss nothing, I recorded everything he said. In the Beginning… There always has been and always will be an entity known as The Nameless. The universe and its countless suns and worlds sprang from the will of the Nameless, as well as many powerful creatures whom one might call gods. Whereas The Nameless created the stage, these gods gave birth to us, the many actors upon that stage. Dragons First – The Age of Scale Veeshan, Crystalline Dragon and ruler of the Plane of Sky was the first god to notice the world of Norrath. She found it pleasing and deposited her brood onto the frozen continent of Velious. Dragons walked the land and flew the skies – powerful beings of great intellect, wisdom, and strength. Early Gods and Their Interventions – The Elder Age In time, another god noticed Veeshan’s work. Brell Serilis, the Duke of the Underfoot, secretly created a magic portal to a cavern deep in the belly of Norrath. Through this portal, he seeded the depths of Norrath with all manner of creatures and sealed them within a labyrinthine chamber of mystical Living Stone. With his own supplicants in place, Brell Sirilis then discussed the fate of Norrath with the other gods: Tunare the Great Mother, Prexus the Oceanlord, and Rallos Zek the Warlord. With words befitting the King of Thieves, Brell proposed that they accept an alliance of sorts, to divide the planet amongst them for the purpose of keeping the Dragon Wurmqueen in check. All agreed to the division; however, Rallos Zek pledged his allegiance to none. Thus, the gods each created a race of beings to keep a vigilant eye on Norrath and the schemes of Dragonkind. Brell Serilis had forged the Dwarves, stout and strong, deep beneath the mountains. Prexus the Oceanlord produced his children, the Kedge, hearty aquatic beings of great mental power and stamina. Aboveground, Tunare the Great Mother of All gave birth to the Elves, creatures of limitless grace and beauty. And Rallos Zek created the Giants, a race of fierce and formidable surface-dwellers, ever intent upon the defense of their lands. Unwanted Attention – The Age of Monuments Innorruk, The Prince of Hate, cursed his fellow gods for not including him in their pact and vowed they would regret such disrespect. Legends say he took the first Elven King and Queen and slowly tore them apart, physically and mentally, over the course of three hundred years. He then rebuilt them in his own dark sadistic image. These Dark Elven creatures came to be known as the Teir’Dal. Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane and Cazic-Thule came next to Norrath. Brell Serilis entered into a second pact with these gods, along with Rallos Zek. From this pact, Brell added the Gnomes – cousins to Dwarves, yet more wiry, gnarled and consumed by tinkering with devices. Rallos Zek made the Ogres – massive, implacable beings, and the Orcs, bred for battle and singled-minded in their desire for conquest. On the surface, away from Elves and Giants, Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane fashioned the Halflings, a short and stubby folk, who were nonetheless agile and had a distinct propensity to meddle (or even pilfer) at times. Cazic-Thule, Lord of Fear, was drawn to the swamps and jungles of Norrath and there created the green-skinned Trolls and the reptilian Iksar of Kunark. Fall of Rallos Zek and His Children Only the Ogres of Rallos Zek dared invade the Plane of Earth itself. Through a combined offensive effort, the other gods finally defeated and imprisoned Rallos Zek in his own domain, the Planes of Power. Thousands of Ogres were slain and their empire collapsed around them. The Giants were forced to flee their homes as the gods brought snow and ice to their previously lush lands. Rallos Zek’s third race, the Goblins, were also cursed, although no writings remain of their trials. End of Elven Prosperity The Elddar Forest, the Elven realm of old, spread across the entire southeastern quarter of Tunaria. Tree communities as well as cities of marble and gleaming snow-white spires rose out of the forest, higher than the tallest trees. Legends say this prosperity drew the jealousy of Solusek Ro, Lord of Flame. The rivers ran dry, and less rain fell. The great Elven druids fought long and hard with their powerful magic, attempting to turn back the change, but they could only delay the inevitable. Slowly the forest gave way to desert, until at last even the fair Elven city Takish-Hiz crumbled, and the elves were forced to flee Tunaria, leaving much of their greatness behind. Birth of Humankind – The Age of Blood As the dust settled, the last of the gods came to Norrath. These were twin deities Mithaniel Marr, God of Valor,a nd his sister Erollisi, Goddess of Love. Their creatures, the Barbarians, proved a hardy race and settled the cold and rugged northlands near the ruins of the Giants’ empire. As the Barbairans spread out across the lands – in dispute with each other and any other race encountered – a tiny movement toward enlightened thinking was sparked by the Twins Marr and began slowly to grow. And so, even amidst desolation and war, there was hope. This enlightened order of Barbarians became the fathers and mothers of the Human race. Their Combine Empire spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew. While they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath, and their relics and ruins still litter lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of their great empire remains. Early Human Settlements – The Age of Enlightenment To the west, a strong and noble band of Humans, lead by Antonius Bayle the First, founded Qeynos under the lofty principles of law. To the east, Freeport grew into an active and dangerous port of call for all who dared venture into the Ocean of Tears. The great continent of Tunare became known as Antonica. Meanwhile, Human explorers and adventurers returned from afar with tales of Elves, Dwarves, and other strange creatures, as well as descriptions of ancient, abandoned cities. A few even came back with limited knowledge of sorcery and the mystic arts. When a discontented minority of leaders heard these tales, they became both jealous of the arts and races described therein and determined to see these lands for themselves. Magic Leaving a small network of spies behind them, Erud and the above mentioned discontents sailed west and landed upon the barren coast of Odus Island. They soon established Erudin, a city almost entirely within a towering castle inhabited by scribes and scholars called High Men. Within the castle walls they gathered and analyzed reports, captured books or scrolls, and other artefacts brought to them by their spies. Soon many “Erudites” – wizards, sorcerers, and enchanters – occupied the great halls of Erudin, growing immensely in both power and knowledge. Magic in War – The Age of Turmoil Some years later, a small group of Erudites discovered the lost art of necromancy and were branded heretics. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Erudites knew and engaged in civil war. But war among the Erudites held on significant difference. In place of swords and bows, they used magic. Lives by the hundreds were lost, great buildings and structures destroyed, and eventually the heretics were forced to flee Erudin and regroup in the southern regions of Odus. The great arcane energies released in the final battle of war opened an immense hole in the earth, leading to depths unknown. Along the sides of this chasm, the heretics built Paineel, their city of refuge. And, in Kunark Tonight, Vanusk sat in silence until I asked him to continue. He wanted to know what we had learned. When we started to recite the tales back to him, he silenced us and asked again what we had learned. The Bane's leader ventured a guess and told him that the only constants seem to be struggle, death, war and deceit. He pulled back the edges of his mouth in what must have been an Iksar smile and said, "As goes Norrath, so goes Kunark. Now, you are ready to learn of my land." He sat back, leaning his strong tail against the railing of our ship and looked south. "Since the beginning," he said, "Kunark has suffered under the shadow of the wurm." His fantastic tale continued over the last days of our sea journey. Shissar Kingdom While the dragons took centuries to grow and organize, a race of intelligent snake men – the Shissar – assumed the forefront. The Shissar were a brutal race who enslaved the Iksar, using them for workers and food. From their capital of Chelsith in what is now The Overthere, they explored dark rites and forgotten evils which would lay the foundation for much of Iksar knowledge and philosophy. As learned from the rest of Norrath, nothing is permanent. Eventually, the Shissar angered even their own gods. A horrible plague destroyed many Shissar; however, the Iksar survived unscathed. Iksar Nation Over the next several centuries, the Iksar grew to greatness on the buried ashes of their former masters. They migrated outward across the continent of Kunark and formed five principal tribe-states: Kylong, Nathsar, Obulus, Jarsath and Kunzar. This last tribe-state was led by Venril Sathir, a young and powerful warrior-mage, who raised an unyielding army of undead with the assistance of dark magic. Sathir and his Kunzar armies conquered and annexed the remaining tribe-states under his rules as the first King of Sebilis, the renamed Iksar nation. In order to build his Sebilisan Empire, Sathir brutally captured and enslaved the Hill Giants, Forest Giants and Froglok of Kunark. Throughout Sathir’s life, the Sebilisan Empire quickly grew in might, power and grandeur. The Rule of Rile King Sathir aged, but, of course, he did not want to die. To cheat death, he made an unholy pact with Innorruk to rise, undead and immortal Rile, Sathir’s heir, had other plans and thwarted the ritual. Sathir’s soul was trapped inside an amulet that was hidden away as Rile cremated his father’s body. Rile assumed the throne; however, little changed in the kingdom. The son of Sathir seized more valuable land and his ruthless reputation increased under the terrors of his warlords: Kurn Machta and Karatukus and the vampire, Chosooth. By the time these warlords finished, most of the continent definitely belonged to Sebilis … all but a few pockets of Giants and Dragons. The Ring of Scale The Iksar had left the Dragon lands alone, but their threat was easy to see. The Dragon lords convened the Ring of Scale and argued about how to proceed. Trakanon, a poison dragon, advocated swift intervention on behalf of all racers against the Iksar. However, Trakanon was voted down and the Ring of Scale decided to intervene only indirectly. Trakanon and a number of the younger dragons decided more direct action was required. They conjured a squall at sea that destroyed Rile’s warship while the King was on board. This action triggered a spectacular war amongst the Dragons that lasted for almost a half century. Atrebe’s Iksar Empire Atrebe, Rile’s first-hatched son, then became King. This young Iksar was different from his father. He was reclusive and enamored of the dark arts. All feared his use of the evil magic of the Shissar and his grandfather, Sathir. His foul experiments joined a dragon with an Iksar, creating the Sarnak, a race of intelligent Dragon-men. He also joined a Dragon with a froglok, creating flying mounts for his armies, the Sokokar. On these flying beasts, the Iksar were deadly. Soon, only the hardiest Dragonkind stood unconquered by the Sebilisan Empire. Iksar vs. the Ring of Scale Over the next half century, Dragonkind struggled against the Iksars’ airborne army. Atrebe was succeeded by his son, Ganak, a most capable warrior. The war ended inconclusively over the Field of Bone with aerial duel between Ganak on his Sokokar mount and Jaled-Dar, then leader of the Ring of Scale. Both were incinerated by magic and fire. The Dragons retreated, but not before destroying the imperial palace and all Ganak’s hatchlings in a daring finale blaze of revenge. The Emerald Circle Instead of a new king, the Iksar nobles created the Emerald Circle, a body of five nobles who wisely worked to enhance the Iksar cities and trade, rebuild the navy, and return prosperity to the empire. Unfortunately, whenever the ambitions of rulers are involved, strife soon follows and the empire was ultimately divided into the original five tribal-states. Even that treaty was soon forgotten, as the tribes began to wrestle for supremacy over each other. Unbeknownst to the Iksar, the Ring of Scale had also rebuilt and was meddling in every alliance and affair, pitting the tribal-states on against another. The End of the Sebilisan Empire The slaves revolted in Sebilis. Goblin lords from Faydwer invaded Kunark. The Giants mustered an army and destroyed the warlord outposts before they attacked the cities. The final destructive attack on the Iksar came when Trakanon and his Dragon allies descended on what was left of the Iksar cities and reduced them to ashes and ruins. The grand Sebilisan Empire was no more. Free from Iksar restraints and rule, all the other races established themselves and began warring amongst themselves in their lust for domination. Two last warnings came from Vanusk as we bedded down for the evening. Our new friend told us that the undead King Venril Sathir had indeed been brought back into existence and ruled in Karnor, in The Dreadlands, a place he recommended we avoid. The second warning was to avoid the Frontier Mountains. That foul bastard race, the Sarnak, had set up outposts there to breed Goblin and Froglok slaves. And now, the hour grows late. My notes are complete and I have prepared a new parchment to record upcoming events in our journey. I pray that Rallos Zek guide our will and that Vanusk will agree to guide our way to these mountains of Veeshan’s children.